Chapter 10 The Universal Formula for Conquering Worry

This universal formula for fighting worry once caused a dying patient to gain 40kg on a coffin-cruising voyage. Do you want to find a quick and effective way to eliminate worry - that is, you don't have to read the book and apply it immediately, and get rid of worry immediately with immediate results? Well, let me tell you about this method invented by Vicki Kabell.Cabell was a very bright engineer who pioneered the manufacture of air conditioners and is now the head of the world-renowned Cabell Corporation in Seresi, New York.This is the best way of fighting worry that I know of, and I learned it from Mr. Cabell while we were having lunch at the Engineers' Club in New York.

Mr. Cabell said: "When I was young, I worked for the Buffalo Steel Company in Buffalo, New York. At one point, I had to go to the Pittsburgh Glass Company in Crystal City, Missouri - a factory that cost millions of dollars. , to install a gas cleaning machine in order to remove the impurities present in the gas so that it will not burn the engine when the gas burns. This is a new method of cleaning gas, which was only tried once before, and the situation at that time was very Not the same. When I went to Crystal City, Missouri, to do this job, a lot of unforeseen difficulties arose. I couldn't back down in that situation, and I tried to think of various ways to solve the problem. After some adjustments, the new machine was finally ready to use, but not to the extent we had promised.

"A sense of failure came over me and I felt as if someone had punched me hard on the top of the head. Also, my stomach and my entire abdomen started to ache. For a while, I was so worried I could barely sleep . "After a few days, I realized that worrying doesn't solve the problem, so I came up with a way to solve the problem without worrying, and it turned out to be very effective. I have used this way to eliminate worry for more than 30 years. This The method is very simple, but it can be used by anyone, and it has been tried and tested. It has three steps: "In the first step, I analyze the whole situation without fear and honesty, and then find out what will happen in case of failure and make an estimate of it. No one is going to lock me up or shoot me, that's okay. Sure. Yes, I'd probably lose my job, but my boss could also tear down the entire machine and lose $20,000.

"The second step, after identifying a lot of worst-case scenarios that could have happened, I allowed myself to accept it when necessary. I said to myself, this failure is a big one on my life record. Stain, I might lose my job because of it. But even if it is, I can find another job. And it could be worse than that. As for my boss, he also knows that I am now experimenting with a new cleaning method Gas's method, if the experiment costs twenty thousand dollars, he can still afford it. He can charge this to research expenses, because this is just an experiment. When I analyze the worst possible scenario, And after allowing myself to accept it, something very important happened - I immediately relaxed and felt a peace I hadn't experienced in days.

"The third step. From then on, I will calmly look at the worst possible results, and devote my time and energy to improving the problems and difficulties I face. I try to find ways to reduce our suffering. We are currently facing a loss of $20,000. I have done several experiments for this and finally found that if we spend another $5,000 more, we can add some equipment, so that our problem can be solved. I reported this idea to The boss immediately got the approval of the boss. After we followed this method, the company not only did not lose 20,000 US dollars, but made 15,000 US dollars.

"Afterwards, I summed up the experience of this mission, and I came to a conclusion-if I had been worrying like that, I'm afraid I would never be able to do this again. Because the biggest harm of worry is that it will destroy my concentration. Mental capacity. When we worry, we become distracted and lose the ability to analyze decisions. However, when we force ourselves to face the worst and accept it mentally first, we are able to weigh all possible situation, it puts me in a favorable state of mind where I can focus on solving the problem. Let's focus on solving the problem.

"The incident I have just described happened many years ago, and I have continued to use this method because it has been so effective. As a result, I have had almost no worries in my life at all." Why is Vicky Kabell's universal formula so valuable and practical?From a psychological point of view, it can break us out of the huge gray cloud, so that we no longer blindly grope because of worry; it can keep our feet on the ground, and we all know that we are indeed standing. on the ground.How can we think about things if we don't have this solid ground under our feet? "Father of Applied Psychology" Professor William James has passed away for 38 years. If he was still alive today and heard this universal formula for alleviating anxiety, I believe he would also agree with it.How would I know?Because he once said to his students: "You have to be willing to take on this situation, because accepting the fait accompli is the first step in overcoming any misfortunes that follow."

Not bad at all.In doing so, psychologically, you can tap into new abilities.When we accept any worst-case scenario, we have nothing to lose, which means everything can be regained.As Vicki Cabell told us: "After facing the worst, I immediately relaxed and felt a peace I hadn't experienced in days. Then, I could think." These words make perfect sense, don't they?But there are still many people whose lives are ruined by anger and worry.Because they refuse to accept the worst situation, they don’t want to change the status quo, rebuild their lives, and they don’t want to save as much as possible in the disaster.Instead of recreating their fortunes, they engage in "a ruthless and violent struggle" from experience, and fall prey to that despondency we call melancholy.

At this point, you may be more interested in hearing how to use Vicky Kabell's universal formula to solve their own problems.Well, here's an example.This guy was a former student in my class, and he's now distributing gasoline in New York. He said: "I was blackmailed, I don't believe this kind of thing can happen, let alone this kind of thing can happen in real life outside of the movie-but my experience tells me that I was indeed blackmailed. Things The process is like this: My company has several trucks and several drivers for oil delivery. At that time, the regulations of the Price Management Committee were very strict, and the gasoline we could only send to each customer was also limited. Things I didn't know the truth about this at first, but there are indeed some oil delivery drivers who reduce the amount of oil used by customers in private, and then sell the stolen oil to others privately, earning ill-gotten gains from it.

"One day, a man who claimed to be a government investigator came to me and asked me for red envelopes. He said he had evidence of illegal and fraudulent practices by our gas delivery drivers. He also threatened that if I did not comply with his request, he would send the money to me. The evidence was turned over to the District Attorney. I was shocked to find out about this illegal transaction at this time. "Of course, I know that I don't have to worry too much about me personally, because at least this matter has nothing to do with me personally. But I also know that the law stipulates that the company should be responsible for the actions of its employees. Go to court, then this bad name of the company will ruin my business. I am very proud of my business, it is the foundation that my father laid 24 years ago, if it is destroyed in my hands, I will suffer for the rest of my life.

"I was so worried, I got sick very quickly, and I couldn't sleep or eat for three days and three nights. I kept worrying about that. Do I pay that person $5,000, or do I say to that person, 'You can do whatever you want What? I couldn't make up my mind for a while, and every day seemed to be living in a nightmare. "One of the Sunday nights when it happened, I happened to pull out a little book, "How to Stop Worrying," which I had been given while listening to Carnegie's public lectures. I started reading it and read Vicky Cabell story about 'how to face the worst case scenario.' So I asked myself, 'What's the worst thing that could happen if I don't pay the guy and he turns over the evidence to the D.A. Woolen cloth?' "The answer is: 'This is going to kill my business - at worst. But I'm not going to be locked up. All that could happen is that I'm going to be ruined by this.' "So I said to myself: 'Well, even if the business is ruined, I can live with it. So what?' "Yeah, after the business is ruined, I might have to find another job. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I know a lot about oil - there are a couple of big companies that might be happy to hire me... So, I started to feel better, my emotions stabilized... and to my surprise, I regained my thinking ability at this time, and I was able to think like usual again. "Then, I clearly saw the third step - to reverse the worst situation as much as possible. When I found the solution, a whole new situation opened up in front of me: if I told the whole situation to my Lawyer, he might help me find a countermeasure I never thought of. I know it sounds stupid, because I really didn't think of it when I first started-during those days, I was almost caught by that kind of Surrounded by overwhelming worries, it was impossible to think normally. Now that my thoughts were clear again, I immediately decided to see my lawyer early the next morning. After I went to bed that night, I slept soundly. "How did it turn out? It was quite dramatic. The next morning, my lawyer called me to the D.A. and told him the whole story. I actually did what he suggested. When I told what happened, I was surprised to hear from the District Attorney that there had been several such blackmail cases going on for months.The man who claimed to be a 'government investigator' was actually a criminal wanted by the police.When my lawyer told me this result, my joy was beyond words.After three days and three nights of worrying about not being able to decide whether to hand over the $5,000 to this criminal, I was greatly relieved to hear his words.At the same time, I blamed myself for not discussing this matter with my lawyer in time. "This experience taught me a lesson I will never forget. Now, whenever I am faced with a problem that worries me, I use Vicky Cabell's universal formula." There is another representative story below, which is about Al Haley. On November 17, 1948, he told me the story himself at the Silang Hotel in Boston: "In 1929, I developed stomach ulcers from constant worry and worry. One night I had a stomach bleed and was taken to Northwestern University Medical School Hospital in Chicago. My weight dropped dramatically from 175 pounds to 90 pounds. It was so severe that the doctor warned me not to even lift my head. One of the three doctors was a very famous gastric ulcer specialist. They all said that my disease was hopeless. At that time, I could only eat soda powder. Eating a tablespoon of semi-fluids every hour, and having a nurse insert a rubber tube into my stomach every morning and evening to flush out the contents was a pain in the ass. "It went on for several months... Finally, I said to myself, 'Sleep, Hayley. If you have nothing to do but wait to die, you might as well make the most of the time you have left. Haven't you always wanted to travel the world before you die? If you still want to, why not do it now.' "When I told the doctors the next day that I was going to travel the world and wash my stomach twice a day by myself, they were shocked. It was impossible for them. Yes, they never heard of such a thing. So they warned me that if I started traveling around the world, I would just die at sea. 'No, I won't.' I replied, 'I've I made a promise to my friends and relatives that I will be buried in our home cemetery in the Nebreska region, so I intend to take my coffin with me.' "So, I actually went and bought a coffin, shipped it on board, and made an agreement with the shipping company that if I die during the trip, I will put my body in the freezer and ship it to my My hometown. I started to embark on a journey, feeling both tragic and romantic. After all, no one has ever done this before. I did this, and this may be the best explanation for my life. I boarded the ship I felt a little relaxed in my heart. I can even recall a poem by Omar Kane: "In fact, it was this poem that accompanied me throughout the trip. And the miracle happened soon after I boarded the steamer 'President Adams' from Los Angeles and started sailing east, when my illness quietly occurred. Gradually, I stopped taking medicine, and I stopped giving myself gastric lavage. Soon, I could eat any food without any scruples, even including many strange local foods and condiments. These are said to be I would have killed myself if I ate them. However, I was fine after eating those things. After a few weeks, I could even smoke a long black cigar and drink a few glasses of old wine. I have not enjoyed this in many years We have had monsoons in the Indian Ocean and typhoons in the Pacific. These things would have put me in a coffin if I had been afraid, but I have learned from this adventure had fun. "I made new friends on the boat, played games, sang songs with everyone, and often talked late into the night. After arriving in China and India, I found that the private affairs I had to deal with after returning home were comparable to the poverty and hunger I saw in the East. Wow, what a world of difference. It made a big difference in my thinking, and I ditched all the boring worries and felt so comfortable. After returning to the US, I gained 90 pounds in no time, and I had I almost forgot about the stomach ulcer. I've never felt better in my life. I went back to work and haven't been sick since." "Later, I summed up the process of my psychological changes, and I found that my psychological changes coincided with Vicki Kabell's method of conquering worry. "First, I asked myself: 'What's the worst that could happen?' The answer was: death. "Second, I prepared myself for death. I had to prepare for it because I had no choice and all the doctors said I was hopeless. "Thirdly, I tried my best to find ways to improve the situation, and I began to enjoy the little time I had left... If I continued to worry after I got on the ship, there was no doubt that I would finish it in a coffin This trip. But when I relaxed, I forgot all my troubles, and this mental peace gave me new strength, and it was this new strength that overcame the sickness in my body , saved my life.” So, when you are faced with worry, a shortcut to get rid of worry is to apply Vicki Kabell’s universal formula and carry out a three-step psychological adjustment: 1. Ask yourself: "What's the worst that could happen?" Two, if you must accept it, be ready to accept it. 3. Calmly and rationally find ways to improve the worst situation.